The Wilderness Season By: Jennifer Maggio I am such a country girl. I know I do a great job of masking my country accent, so you probably wouldn’t have guessed, but I’m a country girl. Now a Country Girl is different than a Southern Girls. We are all Southern girls, but country girls are just a little different. Let me explain. I was raised hunting & fishing. I lived in rural Mississippi, really rural. We went to town once a month to get groceries --- and that means --- milk, butter, and eggs. We grew everything we ate --- all the vegetables, fruit, spices. The meat we ate was deer, squirrel, fish, frogs. Because I was raised that way, my sister and I learned to love to play in the woods. We loved being in the wilderness and playing house. We put an old chair out there and dug around in the trash dump for old pots and pans. Hanging out in the wilderness proved to be great, all-day fun, and it left me with such wonderful memories. But being in the wilderness isn’t always fun. It can get dark. You can get lost. It can be lonely. We can go through many tests as a Christian. Tests are actually not our enemies. They are our friends. They teach us. They show us who we are when we are squeezed. One of those tests is the Wilderness test. The wilderness test comes when we feel spiritually dry as if we’re in the desert. As if no one is around, no one understands, and no one cares. Paul was pressed from every side. Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 6:4-5, then v. 8-10. Paul was exhausted and pressed, and the obstacles were everywhere. Some of you reading this have been pressed from every side. Your pressing may look different from Paul’s pressing, but you have been pressed nonetheless. The God who got you through that previous thing is going to get you through this one! Sometimes, when we are in the middle of the wilderness, in the middle of testing, we can’t hear God. Psalms 42:1-2 puts it like this, “As the deer longs for the streams of water, so I long for you. O, God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?” Here’s what you need to do about finding Hope in the wilderness: Read Luke 4:1-13. What did Jesus do every time he was tested? He quoted Scripture. There is power in Scripture. You must be in the Word to know what power you have. Hosea 4:6 says my people perish for lack of knowledge. You likely don’t even walk in all the power you have been given. When you are in the middle of testing, in the wilderness, you can stand strong on what the Word of God says – that is, eternal Hope. He will not leave you. He will not forsake you. He holds you up with his victorious right hand. You must learn to be a “driver” in the wilderness. There’s a big difference between being a driver and being a passenger. Passengers in a car can be completely disengaged. Passengers don’t have to be aware of where they are going. They don’t have to know the right turns to make. They don’t have to be safe and wise. Drivers steer the car. They must be keenly aware of their surroundings. A good driver takes responsibility for the car and all those affected. Drivers don’t whine. They don’t place blame. They don’t ask why. They just drive. The Israelites were rescued from slavery through the leadership of Moses. He led a national revolt because God spoke to him to do so. He gathered the people, and they literally ran for their lives as the Egyptians came chasing them. They had been beaten, abused, malnourished, and mistreated. And they get to the other side of the Red Sea --- God showed up and gave them a miracle. But, when they get to the opposite side of the Red Sea, is where the real testing began. They waited for their deliverance to the Promised Land for 400 years. Testing comes. Exodus 13:17-18 says that God did not lead the Israelites along the easiest route, even though it was the shortest way. He said that if it got too tough and they were faced with a battle, they might just change their minds and give up! They might just turn around and go home! Think about that for a minute. Have you been asking God why? Why am I here? Why am I wandering? Could it be that you’re being led in a roundabout way because God is teaching you? Don’t ask why – just drive! 3. When you come out of the wilderness, out of the season of testing – there’s rest There’s peace. There’s Hope. So replenish during this time. Take the time to assess what you’ve learned during that time in the wilderness. Take the time to rest in Christ’s eternal peace. One of the fruits of the spirit is Hope. Hope was given when you accepted Christ as your Savior. Some of you have experienced a temporary setback. It could’ve come in the form of abuse or divorce or an unwed pregnancy, or death. But for whatever reason, you’ve had a setback. I want to remind you that God has given you every tool you need to survive the setback. Jennifer Maggio is a national voice for single mothers and hurting women. Her personal story has been featured in hundreds of media venues including The New York Times, Daystar Television, The 700 Club, and many others. She is CEO/Founder of The Life of a Single Mom Ministries, a national nonprofit that works with churches to develop single mom’s programs and ministries, totaling over 1600 groups currently. The Life of a Single Mom has served over 500,000 single mothers over the last decade and counting. Maggio is an author of several books, including The Church and the Single Mom. For more information, visit www.jennifermaggio.com. Jennifer Maggio is a mom to three, wife to Jeff, and founder of the national nonprofit, The Life of a Single Mom Ministries. She is author to four books, including The Church and the Single Mom. She was named one of the Top 10 Most Influential People in America by Dr. John Maxwell in 2017 and 2015 and has appeared in hundreds of media venues, including The New York Times, Family Talk Radio with Dr. James Dobson, Joni and Friends, and many others.
